Maintenance

I've been riding my Mountain Bike a lot over the past week. There are a million reasons why I shouldn't be, not the least of which are the numerous stream crossings.

Still, isn't it a treat to be able to spend an hour or two every day with an ear-to-ear smile? I'm taking advantage of that while I can. Every afternoon, the peaceful Livingston Preserve is abuzz with whooping and hollering as I haul ass through its singletrack.

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Technically, legally, at least according to a sign I saw at a trailhead on the far side of the Preserve, there is no bike riding allowed in the Preserve. This doesn't mean that I'm not going to ride there, or even that I'm going to ride incognito in some other team's uniform.

I am, however, trying to do my part, to my part, to be a "responsible citizen" and all that good stuff. So far this weekend, I've spent about 20 minutes using nothing but bodyweight and elbow grease to turn waist-high felled trees into mild log obstacles. Clearing the singletrack of loose branches is proving to be more Sisyphean, as rainfall is just replacing the removed branches.

I'm really pleased with this Trail Maintenance. Last weekend, the Preserve's trails were barely distinguishable from the rest of the woods, and most were only accessible by means of a fire-road detour. Now, well, now it's a park I can be proud of.

The best part of this MTBing is the noticeable difference in my skill level. I'm easily clearing obstacles that I spent all summer not even trying, so scared I was of them. I feel like I'm working with the bike, rather than fighting it, and it's getting me really excited for racing this summer.

Looking back at some of my whiny, rationalizing posts from last summer summer, I'm a little disappointed in myself. Disgusted, really. Frustration got the best of me, I suppose, and my mopey lamentations were just my way of coping. Ugh.

I'd barely ridden my MTB before racing it, yet I expected to be able to handle it. Here's the secret, princess: To get good at something, you have to do it a lot. No more excuses, no more whining. I am going to get good at MTB racing, and I'm going to do so by working hard. It's going to be that simple. No more whining.

That's what I call Don Maintenance.